Li-Fi

*It’s a press release. I’m running it because of the interesting implications of Internet connectivity through visible light. If you combine this with projection-mapping you get a remarkable technology where visual augmentations transfer their own data.

*I would skeptically note that Internet connectivity has been threatening to ooze out of sewer lines and buzz out of wall sockets for ages now, yet it never does. Even Alexander Graham Bell tried to put telephony into light signals. “Fiber optics without the fiber.” Well, maybe.

‘LI-FI’ COULD REPLACE WI-FI AS UNIVERSITY SPIN–OUT LOOKS TO TRANSMIT DATA THROUGH LED LIGHT BULBS

“Tuesday 28th March 2012 (((Hey wow, a month into the future (sic))))

“For ‘Wi-Fi’ read ‘Li-Fi’ as light from an LED bulb can be transformed into communication data streams using technology created at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland

“Large risk of running out of radio spectrum as we cope with the long term demand of wireless data transmissions and the trillions of bytes of data communicated every month.

“Turning a light source – a simple household LED bulb – into a localised data communications centre is a potentially viable alternative

“Edinburgh, Scotland; 28th February 2012: A new spin-out from the University of Edinburgh has embarked on pioneering R&D to throw light on an alternative to wireless radio data communication.

“VLC Ltd (Visible Light Communications) is to launch the first prototype ‘Li-Fi’ technology application which will see LED light carry optical wireless communication streams, as an alternative to conventional Wi-Fi, using VLC’s IP technology SIM-OFDM and optical spatial modulation.

“This allows LED light to modulate at a rate so fast as to be imperceptible to the human eye, but which can be picked up by receivers such as suitably configured smart-phone cameras at speeds of hundreds of megabits per second, enabling the light source to transmit data.

“Although the idea of transmitting data via the visible light spectrum is not new, the development of super high-speed transmission using off-the-shelf LED light bulbs initially came from research carried out by Professor Harald Haas, Professor of Mobile Communications, School of Engineering/Institute of Digital Communications, University of Edinburgh.

“His research created the technology that can transfer vast quantities of information across a spectrum 10,000 times wider than the radio frequency spectrum.

“Dr Gordon Povey, CEO of VLC, has overseen the recent company spin-out, working in partnership with Edinburgh Research and Innovation (ERI), the university’s research and commercialisation office. He believes the company is on the cusp of a quantum leap forward in transforming data communication, which may eventually lead to a migration away from our dependence on radio communication.

“He comments;

“Our research has shown that using LED light as the carrier, we can achieve data rate speeds well in excess of current Wi-Fi configurations.

“One of the key issues is with data capacity – at the rate we currently adopt wireless data, we will ultimately run out of radio spectrum as we cope with the long term demand of wireless data transmissions and the trillions of bytes of data communicated every month. (((Well, this spectrum scarcity is basically a political issue, but maybe it’s easier to hide in the light bulbs than it is to confront the television industry.)))

“Turning a light source – a simple household LED bulb for example – into a localised data communications centre is a potentially viable alternative. Where we have an LED light source configured with VLC’s own IP, we have a powerful method of carrying data, not just in a single data stream, but thousands of data streams in parallel at high speed. (((The fun part is when you go to your Mom’s house and say, “Hey Mom! Did you know that your lightbulb is full of mafia, drug dealers, terrorists and child pornographers that you can’t even see with your naked eye? Hey watch this demo!”)))

“Moreover, it can be used in intrinsically safe environments – petrochemical plants, hospitals, aircraft, etc where the use of radio frequency Wi-Fi can have restrictions. Our research has shown that the long term potential for Li-Fi over Wi-Fi is one which cannot be ignored.” (((That’s okay, I’ll just be here websurfing at 2 AM with the nightlight on.)))